Cathaya

Cathaya is a genus in the pine family, Pinaceae, with one known living species, Cathaya argyrophylla.[2] Cathaya is a member of the subfamily Laricoideae, most closely related to Pseudotsuga and Larix. A second species, C. nanchuanensis, is now treated as a synonym,[3] as it does not differ from C. argyrophylla in any characters.

Cathaya
Temporal range: 30.0–0 Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Division: Pinophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Pinaceae
Subfamily: Laricoideae
Genus: Cathaya
Chun & Kuang
Species:
C. argyrophylla
Binomial name
Cathaya argyrophylla
Chun & Kuang

Cathaya is confined to a limited area in southern China, in the provinces of Guangxi, Guizhou, Hunan and southeast Sichuan. It is found on steep, narrow mountain slopes at 950–1800 m altitude, on limestone soils. A larger population has been reduced by over-cutting before its scientific discovery and protection in 1950.

The leaves are needle-like, 2.5–5 cm long, have ciliate (hairy) margins when young, and grow around the stems in a spiral pattern. The cones are 3–5 cm long, with about 15–20 scales, each scale bearing two winged seeds.

One or two botanists, unhappy with the idea of a new genus in such a familiar family, tried to shoehorn it into other existing genera, as Pseudotsuga argyrophylla and Tsuga argyrophylla.[4] It is however very distinct from both of these genera, and these combinations are not now used.

The Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia had a small living specimen. The tree died in 2017.

Fossil record

Cathaya sp. fossils are described from the early Pleistocene of southern Portugal.[5] They are abundant in European brown coal deposits dating from between 10–30 million years ago.

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References
  1. Conifer Specialist Group (1998). "Cathaya argyrophylla". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 1998. Retrieved 6 May 2006.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  2. "Cathaya". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  3. "Cathaya nanchuanensis". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  4. "Cathaya argyrophylla". Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens Kew. Retrieved 2018-11-07.
  5. Forest Context and Policies in Portugal: Present and Future Challenges by Fernando Reboredo – Springer, 28. aug. 2014 – ISBN 978-3-319-08455-8
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